A few scratches around the screen. A keypad that doesn't light up. No original materials included -- just a wall wart for charging. Doesn't exactly sound like a dream of an eBay find until you realize what this is, the totally unreleased Motorola Z9 slider that hasn't been seen or heard from for many, many moons. As the seller points out, the Z9's basically a slider version of the RAZR 2 (right down to the bizarre burgundy shade of AT&T's V9) so if sliders just really do it for you, here's your chance to get in on a little piece of unavailability. The seller also claims that the phone won't be out in retail channels for "a couple more months," though with six or more months already behind us since we first heard of it, who's counting?

[Thanks, Lincoln]

Alright, Motorola faithful, listen up: AT&T's got a few goodies in store for you. Nothing we didn't already know about, really, but in light of the recent upheaval, it's a little reassuring to hear that stuff is still on track. It turns out that the Z9 -- a phone we heard about merely once before returning to the ether to mature for many, many more months -- is apparently on track for a January release alongside the updated V9 that will bring GPS and Video Share to the RAZR 2 formula. Oh, and that V365 replacement we'd mentioned a while back? Yep, it's still cookin' (with the code name "Hurricane," we hear) and may be billed as a higher end handset with crazy signal strength and some sort of industrial-grade metal housing. Anyone getting excited about that one?

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

So when Motorola gets around to launching the dual-mode GSM / CDMA Z6c slider, these are pretty much the high-style shots you're going to see in publications. A little swankier and more refined than the harsh light offered by the FCC's labs, eh? On behalf of world travelers everywhere, we await thee!

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Motorola's newest slider seems to have slipped out of Schaumburg and right into the waiting grasp of Engadget pal The Boy Genius. The Marco features the same slider case, GSM / EDGE radio, and 2 megapixel camera as the MOTORIZR Z3, but updates the internals with a WiFi chip, making compatibility with T-Mobile@Home entirely possible. In addition, BGR says the JUIX operating system has been tweaked and refined, and that the case seems to have gotten just a hair thicker than before -- something we'll have to confirm when this thing officially launches late this year. Click on for more photos of the Marco doing its WiFi thing.

Yeah, the RAZR 2 is alright, we guess, but we're not idiots -- and that's exactly what Motorola appears to have taken us for over the past week leading up to today's announcements. Not only did Motorola's team drone on endlessly about the MING, GSM Q (now known as the Q8), the Q9h, the Z6, and the Z8 -- even daring to cast some in a new-announcement light -- but it now seems that the multimedia powerhouse CEO Ed Zander was getting us all fired up over last week was the aforementioned Z8. Yes, the very same Z8 that was announced months ago at 3GSM. Next time, Ed, cut to the chase and let us know when you're going to be rehashing an old phone to hype your conference, kthxbai.

T-Mobile's stable got one stall wider when we heard the RIZR Z3 would be hitting this month -- but was it worth the carrier's trouble? T-Mobile is the first US provider to offer up this already long-in-the-tooth handset -- which commands a respectable $100 on a two-year contract -- and LAPTOP had the opportunity to put it through its paces. As we knew, it's really nothing more than a KRZR redone as a slider, so, uh... yeah, if that's what you're looking for, this here handset is the only game in town. LAPTOP was a little less than happy with the phone's music and photo capabilities; the music player was difficult to find and operate, while the pic quality left something to be desired. Call quality was solid, though (as is often the case with Motorola devices) and volume was plenty loud. The magazine's verdict? You can probably do better for the price, but again: if you want a KRZR-esque slider on T-Mobile, the RIZR's your one and only hookup.

Read - LAPTOP Magazine review
Read - T-Mobile's RIZR Z3 product page

[Thanks, Allen]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- better known to most as the Oscar people -- are apparently promising to come down hard on the use of cameraphones at this year's event with a complete ban. That, in itself, is not surprising; the last thing our friends in Hollywood want is a flood of grainy, bootleg footage getting MMSed across the lands in real time. What is surprising, however, is that Motorola's been called out as a bit of a freeloader here. As you might recall, Moto had been trumpeting that some super-duper version of the MOTORIZR Z3 would be handed out to the "top 25" nominees at the event -- problem is, it turns out that the company isn't even sponsoring the show in any capacity, leaving them with zero leverage to override the Academy's ruling. We suppose they could mail out the phones before or afterwards, but how lame is that? Don't fret though, Moto, your efforts aren't for naught -- send those Z3s on over to us and we'll make sure they find loving homes.

We just got the chance to go mano a mano with the MOTORIZR Z8 here at 3GSM. Whether you call it a kick-slider or banana, one thing's for sure: it feels good pressed up to the face. Just check the pics to see how greasy close it's been to the legions of sweaty geek-cheeks here in Barcelona. Eww, man sweat -- but ohhh Symbian.

What a difference a profile shot makes, eh? Say hello again, to Motorola's 3G MOTORIZR Z8 -- the first ever "kick slider" sporting a new form factor meant to more confortably fit the profile of your face. This pup packs a Symbian (yes, Symbian) OS and up to 3.6Mbps HSDPA data in a 15.3-mm thin form factor. It delivers a 1.4 x 2-inch, QVGA 16 million color display and 2 megapixel camera around back (VGA cam up front for video calls) with the ability to record in either MPEG-4 or 3gp (for MMS). It also sports 90MB of internal memory with MiroSD expansion to store even more pictures, video, or MP3 audio; A2DP stereo Bluetooth audio; and up to 5-hours of 3G talk time or up to 16 days standby. Again, no mention of such trivialities as the frequencies supported, but the BSkyB partnership is a pretty good hint that the UK and Europe will be first in line for the Z8 when it pops in April. More pics after the break.

Maybe our good friend Boy Genius has a crystal ball to see into the future or maybe he just has all the right connections, but either way he's on point again. Motorola announced that they will be giving a customized MOTORIZR Z3 to the top 25 nominees from this years Oscar awards. As it turns out, the winners of the soon-to-be released (stateside) slider will come in a custom made box with the nominees name on it along with H800 and S9 Bluetooth headsets. Now, if the nominees were getting that svelte Z6 slider we've been talking about, we might just have to make a move for one of them.

Sorry we don't yet have any hard info on this thing, but you know what a front-facing camera means, right? Say hi to the 3G MOTORIZR (or RIZR, if you will), the Z8.

Yep, we couldn't be sure from the press photos, but now we can say with confidence that the MOTORIZR Z6's glossy casing is pretty bombastic -- visually, it's what the Z3 shoulda been in every respect. Of course, firmware makes or breaks a phone, so we won't know how well the Z6 really treats us until we're able to spend some quality time together. Either way, invoking the word "Linux" definitely gets our imaginations stirring. It's anyone's guess how well Moto's ultimately going to embrace and support their enthusiast community, but we've gotta say it: "open-source fashion phone," anyone?

The first RAZR-esque slider for global release from Moto, the MOTORIZR Z3, hasn't even seen wide distribution yet, but that didn't stop them from announcing the hotter Z6 at CES this week. The upgraded device adds a so-2006 glossy black finish and features Motorola's new Linux- and Java-based platform, but perhaps more importantly to users, it integrates seamlessly with Windows Media Player 11 and rocks support for Windows Media DRM. Other features of the music-heavy handset carry over from the Z3, including a 2 megapixel cam, Bluetooth with A2DP, and expansion via microSD; sadly, there's still no mention of 3G on board. Expect the Z6 to be available by the end of this half of the year, with pricing to be announced closer to launch.

The MOTORIZR Z3 isn't exactly awe-inspiring in terms of features, but being that its Moto's "first attempt at the slider design trend," it gets somewhat of a pass in the value department. CNET was able to get its paws on the predictably thin new mobile, and while the list of niceties wasn't exactly suited to the (admittedly) high $300 pricetag, they couldn't help but fall for its snazzy good looks. Aside from the design, the phone offered a pleasantly crisp LCD, user-friendly navigation array, call quality similar to the GSM KRZR (read: satisfactory), "respectable" battery life of 6.5 hours, and a highly improved volume level. All wasn't peachy, however, as reviewers found the built-in camera to be fairly awful, the button layout to be a bit cramped / slick, and the speakerphone to be less than impressive. All in all, this rendition of Motorola's (almost) vowel-less lineup did the slider motif "quite well," and while CNET suggested holding out until prices drop just a bit, it was deemed a solid performer nonetheless.

[Thanks, Justin]

With the MAXX and V3xx both coming out of the woodwork recently and into customers' hands, it's already been a helluva week for Motorola launches -- but there's no rest for the wicked. The MOTORIZR Z3, alternatively known in some circles as the RAZR slider (but not that RAZR slider), has gone ahead and dropped on Vodafone Germany for the reasonable sum of €100 on contract (about $128). Though the RIZR falls behind its launch-mates with nothing more than old skool EDGE data to its name, it's a solid alternative to the K1 KRZR for those that prefer sliders and just can't bear to give up that Moto look. Here's hoping the Voda launch is only the first of many in the next few weeks, eh?

[Thanks, Jewburg]